Josh Smith (left) and Matt LaManna’s graduate school research paid off when they discovered a new genus of dinosaur, Paralititan stromeri—the second most massive dinosaur discovered to date—in what is now the Egyptian desert’s Bahariya oasis. Of equal interest was the discovery that the land there was an ancient salt marsh with life forms rich enough to support a creature that weighed more than an army tank. The discoveries, announced a little over a year ago, happened with support from Penn’s University Research Foundation and the Department of Earth and Environmental Science as well as outside sources.

Photo courtesy Cosmos Studios/MPH Entertainment